All That Matters
by ElphabaThroppxx
Summary: The young nurse walked past him hurriedly catching his attention. Her dark curls clung to her back and face yet she made not movement to clear her vision. He squinted at her retreating form, trying to clear the fog of the last couple of months from his mind to identify this woman. Then, "Cecilia?" ONE SHOT


**Hello people!**

**Here is my slightly adorable one shot of Robbie and Cecilia. Because really, they shouldn't have died we all know it.**

**enjoy and please review**

**Axx**

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The docks were foggy and a heavy mist hung over the hundreds of heads that lined the slippery edges of the dock, looking out to sea. A group of nurses, huddled together under an old battered umbrella, were silently waiting at the very edge of the crowd.

No one dared move, afraid to break the strained silence that hung over the congregation.

A explosive cry and a sudden bustle of movement from those at the very front of the group shattered the silence. The group surged forward. Each individual attempting to spot the large silver monster that lurked within the fog.

At that moment a young nurse came running around the corner. Her high, starched collar chafing against her thin neck as she ran in the uncomfortable hospital required heals. She stood on a up-turned crate and peered into the mist.

_Is it there? I swore I could see it before...but im not sure now. If I'm honest im not quite sure what I'm doing here. He just stopped writing._

_GAH! stop being stupid Cecilia, he has to be here. Your being irrational. Now stop it and just look for him. _

An almighty cheer and a sudden surge from the crowd confirmed her thoughts for her.

Out of the fog an enormous metal monster came sliding into view, men in matching uniforms hanging out windows and over rails called out to loved ones waiting below. It came slowly to a rest against the pier, coming to a stop with a dull groan.

The police, who had been waiting for the returning boat at the edge of the crowd, held the mass of swarming people back as the large metal doors opened and a wooden gang-plank was lowered down to the waiting men.

A low rumble came from the middle of the transport carrier and then they came into view.

Men.

Hundreds of men. All supporting each other or being pushed in flimsy wheel-chairs or stretchers.

_No. No no no no no! This wasn't the right boat! This was the hospital transport boat. Not the boat that brought back the healthy This had to be wrong. _Ahh but dearie. They said it clear on the radio, 1st boats returning from Dunkirk would arrive on the 30th of June and the last boat on the 2nd of July. What's the date dearie? _….the 2__nd__..._exactly, and he wasn't on any of the others. So this is all that's left. Silly dearie. _Shut up._

Cecilia watched as more soldiers appeared, some moving towards waiting hospital vans and medics, others going straight into the crowd. To the waiting arms of their loved ones. She searched the faces , pleading to herself that he was there – and safe.

She stood there watching every face until they all began to look the same. Dirt. Cloth. Bandage. Blood. Everything began to swirl together into a blur of men and noise until Cecilia could hardly tell one from the other.

She stood at the dock for almost an hour, waiting . It began to rain but she stayed, waiting, Waiting. Like she had done for 8 years now. It seemed that all she did was wait,. Spend her life in a constant state of limbo, never truly happy, never truly whole. Just waiting. Waiting for the day when he came back to her. And stayed.

The fog had thinned as the rain got herder but Cecilia didn't care. Her usually starched cap flopped sadly on her head, sagging under the weight of the water. She did nothing as it slowly slipped down her head and onto the concrete of the dock. Her thin arms shook, whether from the cold and rain or from the increasing pain in her heart that she could not stop, she didn't know.

All she could feel was pain. A pain that she had been suppressing ever since that summer night 8 years ago came suddenly bobbling back to the surface. He had left her. He had promised that he would come back to her, and never leave her again. And then he hadn't come back. She just stood in the rain, her heart breaking with every drop on her skin.

She turned around, giving a half hearted attempt at straightening her uniform and picked up her hat from its place in a puddle at her feet. She set off along the dock as a lone figure made his way down the gang-way. Stopping at the end he looked out at miserable London through a curtain of water falling off his hair and into his eyes.

The young nurse walked past him hurriedly catching his attention. Her dark curls clung to her back and face yet she made not movement to clear her vision. He squinted at her retreating form, trying to clear the fog of the last couple of months from his mind to identify this woman.

Then, "Cecilia?"

She froze. He noticed her shoulders tighten and the slight rise of her head as she snapped at him without turning.

"I don't care who you are or how you know my name but will you just leave me alone." the pain and heartbreak in her tone was concealed under a brisk teacher-like voice. He grinned _Yeah still the same Cee_

His grin faded as he watched how much effor she was making in trying to keep composed. She was breaking, and it was killing him to watch.

"Well?"

"I promised I'd come back"

He heard her breath stop, and saw her hesitate slightly before turning to finally face him. He just watched her stand there. He wanted her to do something, anything. Yell , scream, whisper, cry, anything to prove to him that he wasn't hallucinating like so many times before. But she just stood there unable to do or think anything except his name over and over in her head.

_Robbie. Robbie. Robbie _

It wasn't until he spoke again that she was finally pulled from her state.

"Cee"

That name. The name that had been for so long her family's name, yet had so quickly became his name. His and only his. It tipped her over the edge. It was all too much, even for someone as strong as her. To have him standing there – for the first time in 8 years – free to touch her and hold her. It was all too much

He watched her face change from confusion to panic, to realisation and then to relief . He watched her sway on her feet before his name finally spilled from her lips.

"Robbie" It was merely a whisper, but it was enough to shatter and mend his heart all at the same time.

He dropped his bag on the dock and walked towards her, stopping only when he saw her flinch away from him.

"What is it?" his heart was pounding as the idea that she had moved on with someone else, unable to wait for him, flew through his mind at light speed.

She closed her eyes, let her head sag towards her chest and mumbled so that he had to lean in to hear her.

"What if this is all in my head. What if I've dreamed your here. I cant do this any more."

He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head until she was staring straight into his eyes.

"You're going to have to trust me." He couldn't wait any longer. He pulled her face to his own , gently brushing his lips against hers, felling her take a shuddering breath against his cheek.

Her eyes focused on him, taking him in. He began to worry he had moved to fast. "Robbie?" broke his thoughts. This time more confident. He saw a small glimmer of hope in her eyes as she let her cap slip from her fingers.

He smiled at her. "I came back." he said simply.

That was what she needed. All of a sudden she was on him, pressing her lips and body against him as if she was a dying woman. Her hands were behind his neck pulling his face closer to her, all the while kissing him like he was the only thing that could save her. It took him a moment to respond, being so shocked at the sudden movement, but he responded desperately, wrapping his arms around her waist and crushing her too thin frame against him. Her hands moved from his neck to the front of his shirt, fisting in them so tight it tore the fabric, allowing raindrops to fall freely onto his chest. She could feel his heart beating rhythmically below her hands, together with the feel of his lips and his all encompassing presence, she let herself cry ,in the arms of the man she loved, and waited for, for 8 years.

They needed nothing else now. For they had each other. And as the rain fell around them, that was all that mattered.


End file.
